Karnataka ends its 14-year Ranji title drought

After dismissing Maharashtra for 366, chases down target of 157 for the loss of three wickets

The moment of reckoning finally dawned on them after 14 long seasons. And while seizing the moment, the Karnataka players ensured that they would not be denied their shot at glory by completing a seven-wicket win over two-time champion Maharashtra at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday to win the Ranji trophy for the seventh time.

With Maharashtra resuming at 272 for six, Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar had preferred pace for most of the morning session, clearly in no mood to give away easy runs. But it was when he brought on 20-year-old leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal that things started happening; the latter did not disappoint his captain, sending back Srikant Mundhe (42, 75b, 3x4), who was beginning to look dangerous, and Akshay Darekar (13) in quick succession.

Thereafter, the Maharashtra innings ended quickly setting Karnataka a chase of 157; it was the last four wickets that had yielded 98 of those.

As expected, caution was the watchword as Karnataka set off in pursuit.

But once the openers Robin Uthappa and Lokesh Rahul got a feel of the pitch, which showed no signs of serious wear and tear even on the fifth day, they opened up.

Rahul hit off-spinner Chirag Khurana for a huge six and then square-cut him to the fence to send the message to his team that there was nothing to fear from the pitch.

Later, first-innings centurion Ganesh Satish flicked left-arm medium-pacer Samad Fallah to the fence, and sent left-arm spinner Akshay Darekar sailing over long-on for a huge six to demonstrate how fourth-innings batting could be approached on a track like this.

The finish was as spectacular as Karnataka’s campaign this season. It was fittingly Karun Nair who brought up victory hitting a four and a six off Khurana to trigger off celebrations by his teammates.

The last time Karnataka won the national championship was in 1999 when it defeated Madhya Pradesh in the final.

It was obvious that the target was too small for Maharashtra to defend against a formidable batting line-up on such a track where the batsman’s only challenge was shot-selection.

Congratulations to champions Karnataka.

Congratulations! One jarring note was the fact that the premier cricket competition in the country was played in front of empty stands. The final should have been played either in Bangalore or Pune, the venues of the contesting finalists. This team indeed has potential players for the future and augurs well for indian cricket.

from:
Badrinath C G

Posted on: Feb 2, 2014 at 18:57 IST

Welldone Vinaykumar and his boys! Very very strong performance! Keep it up!!

INFOGRAPHIC

Cricket World Cup 2015 Fixtures Cricket's most anticipated event is back. This time in Australia and New Zealand and spanning for nearly 50 days. Here's the list of scheduled matches with timings and venues.